A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! Thanks for sticking around. Here's our band of merry men - and women - making their escape. More to come soon!

Chapter 18: Welcome To The Jungle

Night was fully upon them, the jungle was dark and treacherous, and the team - plus their two guides - were stuck in the rain with little more than a pair of climbing ropes and flashlights to get them to safer ground. The rain still came down in sheets, and everyone was soaked through and muddy - Danny and Steve were without shoes and it was slow going no matter how they looked at it.

One after another, Danny and Steve were helped along the drain path, back up toward the trail head, with Lori to guide them. It was slow work as Chin harnessed one man into the harness he'd been wearing and stayed below as Lori and her companion made their way back up hill. She would then descend again with the empty harness and the process would start again, until finally, she returned to the bottom to fetch Chin and the climb was made one last time.

"Keep moving!" Joel ordered once the climbing equipment was packed away and the drenched adventurers made their way back to the trail head. "We're more likely to get into trouble out here if we stay put."

"How far is it to the cabin?" Kono asked from her place nearest to the guiding couple.

"It's back the other way." Noella answered. "We could have gone there and weathered the night, but if what you say it true, I bet Gladys is doing the same thing." she whispered. "I would if I were in her shoes and I needed a place to hide."

"We need to catch her. Go back!" Steve stated forcefully as he overheard the conversation.

"And risk running into more trouble without back up and only the weapons the three of us are carrying as our side arms? No, we best get ourselves to safety tonight and regroup in the morning." Chin finished and pushed forward as he helped to support a batted Danny - with Lori to help and Kono supporting Steve, though he acted tough, he still leaned on Kono and Joel for support. Noella followed behind them carrying a flashlight and lighting the path.

"She's got the upper hand, tonight, but we'll regroup and come back out here tomorrow." Kono stated.

"We'll do whatever we can to help." Joel offered as his wife agreed.

"Would you care to fill us in on what is going on at least?" Danny asked to try and take his mind off the jungle trek and the ordeal they'd just lived through.

"I think that's a story for the office once we're sure you two are all right and well rested," Lori chimed in.

"And vaccinated, who knows what you two ingested or were exposed to down there." Kono added.

"Yeah, we'd be best to concentrate on getting to where the back-up is supposed to be meeting us. Concentrate on walking for now." Chin finished as he struggled in the muddy ground and so he knew Danny and Steve were not doing any better.

"And where is that exactly?" Steve asked.

Chin, Kono and Lori remained silent.

"This trail starts near an archeological site and moves off into the valley." Noella answered the question. "It's the best access point."

"And a place we know all too well." Danny said as Chin felt him tense up.

"Back-up will be waiting. We're going to be okay." Lori whispered.

"Keep telling yourself that," Danny sighed.

5-0

True to their word, Duke and Lou lead the back-up to the site they'd been instructed to find. Lou's SWAT team fanned out, covering the area and locking it down.

"No hostiles in this part of the jungle, not on a night like this." One of his men stated over their radio connection.

"Stay alert." Lou warned.

Duke also brought officers, but their primary duty was to bring in the medical team. Two ambulances stood by waiting, and that was all that they could do until the SWAT officers spotted the flashlights coming along the trail.

"Go, check it out." Lou ordered from his place near the SWAT van, where Duke and his men had gathered and paramedics Rosie Paige and Aaron Kirk waited with a second team of EMTs.

"I hate this place!" Aaron called out to Duke in the rain. "Since the last time we were up here, I haven't been back. It gives me the creeps."

"That's likely why this location was chosen, yet again, Aaron!" Rosie retorted as she sat on the step into the back of her nice, warm and dry, ambulance.

"Nice detective work, Rosie!" Aaron spat sarcastically and Rosie rolled her eyes.

"Shh, someone is coming." Duke stated, levelled his weapon over his cruiser and watched as the SWAT men moved in to intercept the lights coming through the jungle.

After a long, and tense, few seconds, the word came back over the radio that it was the Five-O party, and the back-up scrambled in to assist. Rosie rushed forward as soon as Danny could be seen coming out of the jungle, and Aaron moved up to Steve.

"We're fine!" Steve grumbled, but Danny was more than happy to climb into the back of the first ambulance.

"Don't listen to him, he's delusional." Danny stated and greedily grabbed the wool blanket Rosie had started to wrap around him.

"You two need to stop coming up here!" Aaron stated once he'd finally wrangled Steve and had him in the back of the second ambulance - the two additional EMTs split themselves between the ambulances, allowing Aaron and Rosie to work on their friends.

"We didn't come up here on purpose Aaron." Steve spat.

"We're taking them to Queen's, I suggest you follow along and have yourselves check out just to be safe." Rosie shouted out the back door of the ambulance to where the three remaining Five-Os and their hiking guides stood, just before the doors were shut and the ambulances pulled out of the clearing and headed for the main road - lead by a pair of police cruisers.

"Can we hitch a ride back?" Joel asked as he turned to Chin.

"Of course, unfortunately for you, we're not really ready to let the two of you our of our sight." Chin responded.

"Still don't trust us?" Noella asked with a sigh.

"Be happy we're not going to hold you at gunpoint this time." Lori said as she wrapped one arm around Noella. "I'll ride with you this time."

"Girls in my car, boys in Chin's - we'll meet you at Queen's." Kono announced.

"What about us?" Lou asked before Chin could retreat out of the rain and into his vehicle.

"Get back to the office and find Doris. She should be told that her son is alive." Chin stated.

"Eighteen years of that woman presumed dead and you think we'll be able to find her?" Duke asked.

"Try your best, and get out of this rain." Chin stated and climbed into his vehicle.

"A lot of thanks we get." Lou stated as the Five-Os drove away, taking the strangers with them.

"Something tells me, this isn't over." Duke sighed and ordered his men back to their cars.